NEW YORK (AP) — Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged in the death of a fellow GI who authorities say apparently shot himself in Afghanistan after being assaulted and taunted with racial insults by his comrades.

Pvt. Danny Chen, a 19-year-old from New York's Chinatown neighborhood, was found dead in a guard tower in Kandahar province Oct. 3 with what the Army said was an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., said at a news conference Wednesday in Chinatown that Chen's fellow soldiers had dragged him across the floor, threw stones at the back of his head, forced him to hold liquid in his mouth while upside down as part of an apparent hazing, and called him "Jackie Chen" in a mocking accent.

The details of his alleged hazing came from Facebook and email messages, discussions with cousins and a few pages of Chen's journal released by the Army, according to Elizabeth OuYang, president of the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans.

The Army said Wednesday that eight soldiers in his company have been charged with crimes ranging from dereliction of duty to manslaughter.

At the news conference, Chen's relatives said they were encouraged by the charges.

"We realize that Danny will never return, but it gives us some hope," said Yen Tao Chen, his father, speaking through a translator.

Community activists said the Army still has not fully explained the circumstances of Chen's death. They are meeting with Pentagon officials Jan. 4.

"We need to know the whole truth," Velazquez said. She added: "Racial discrimination and intolerance have no place in today's military."